Gear shaving machine



Oct. 26, 1948.

L. W. FAL K ET AL GEAR SHAVING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July l5, 1944 ATTORNEY.

Oct. 26, 1948. L. w. FALK ET Al.

GEAR SHAVING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheei 2 Filed July l5, 1 944 Louis WPC/lik Geol IN VENT ORS VL B ATTORNEY.

v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mw w3 L. W. FALK ET AL GEAR SHAVING MACHINE ATTRNEYI Oct. 26, 1948.

Filed July 15, 1944 Patented Det. 26, 1948 cfr-Filer 2.452,52() GEARfSHAVING MAcrnNE Application rJuly l5, 1944, Serial No. 545,108

y4. Claims.

This invention relates to gear shavingmachines.

Gear Shavers are strictly precision machines employed primarily for the purpose of correcting or removing minute surface inaccuracies vthat commonly develop during the process of cutting or generating gear teeth. Machines Vfor this purpose involve the use of a rotary cutter of gear-*like form adapted to mesh with the gear to be shaved andhaving teeth gashed or serrated to provide on each tooth -iiank a series of substantially parallel cutting edges each extending lfrom the toptovvard the root of a tooth'.

During the shaving operation the intermeshing cutter and work gear rotate about their respective axes which are inclinedrrelative to eachother. Either the cutter or work gear is positivelydriven and impartsrotation to the other; oneisintermittently fed toward the other to develop-the desired cutting pressure; and one'is slowly reciprocatedin a direction to shift the'zone of action back and forth across the face of the Work gear.

Gear shaving machines havelbeen extensively used inthe finishing of small gears and pinions but as heretofore designed suchvmachines areincapable of shaving the larger types of gears such as -marine gears. 'This `is due in part not only to the increased dimensions, but Yalso to the increasedweight 'of such gears and to the serious problems encountered -in Vthe mounting and -control of such gears with theaccuracy-required for satisfactory shaving.

An object of the-presentinventionisto provide shaving machines for the accurate-iinishing of large gears.

Gther more specic objectsand'advantages-will appear, expressed orimplied, -fromthe following description of a gear shaving machine 4constructed in accordance with the present invention.

In the accompanying drawingslliigure A1 is a side elevational view of a gear shaving Amachine embodying the present -invention.

- Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transversesectional view.

Fig. 4 is a face view of the guide for the tool slide shown in Figs. 1 .and 2.

Fig. .5 is a sectional view taken along -the'line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The shaving machine selected -for illustra-tion comprises a conventional gear-shaped cutter -IU rotatably mounted in a turret II carried by an appropriate tool slide IZ. The slide I2 is guided for horizontal reciprocation along the vertical face of a way I4 formed upon-the adjustablehead I-'5of a carrier I6. 'I-he turret II is rotatablyvadjustable about Aa horizontal axis `dispose `i normal to the face of the way M and extending through the center of the cutter I0. Theaxis of-rotation of the cutter Iii lies in a vertical planelparallelf'to the face of the way M andmaybe set at anydesired inclination by rotative adjustment-oifthel turret I l.

The h'ead Ii5 ismovable toward Yand from the work gear Il and for lthat purpose is mounted upon an appropriate horizontal way I8 provided on the carrier i6, the'head l'beingactuatedand controlled by suitable feed mechanism (not shown) by which the cut-ter il) may --beadvanced and retracted into rand out of meshing relation with the Work gear i 'I `and by which the required cutting pressures may `be `established therebetween.

The lcarrier lI is mounted lupon a horizontally extendedbase t9 equippedlwith ways I9 -that'extend parallel to the way I4 `and along which the carrier may be adjusted to ,position the cut-ter zIIJ within a range best suited for operation on the Work gear Il. A -motor driven feed screW'fZIl is shown for effecting this adjustment.

The shaving rmachine thus i'a-r described,- including `the Vcutter I'Il,is old and wellk-nownlin'the art, it beingunderstood that -duringa'shaving operation the carrier It remains stationarytne cutter Iii is fed against the work gear II by the advance of thehead +5 lalongthe way-Isthe cutter Ii) traverses the face of the work gear by reciprocation ofthe slide I2 along ythe way 11i, and rotation is imparted to the cutter i 0 f rom `the rotating Work gear.

The work gear 'I'I however is mounted, positioned, and driven in a novel manner prefer-r ably vby means which will now be described capable of accommodating gears Vranging in size from vfour to eighteen feet in diameter.

The workgear, selectedfor illustratiomand the mounting shaft 2| to wh'hitis fixed comprisega typical marine ,geanunit of ,moderate size. Ihe gear 4`is `mounted .to .rotate about ayhorizontal .axis and is shown supportedby vandbetween apairof laterally spaceahorizontal. parallel Yl0.asareils 22 of rigid box section design, disposed Iat opposite sides of .a ypit 23 into `Whislh the .eser fnroieqts- The rails ,Z2 are bolted or otherwise securely ans chored attheir rear lendsf .totheshaver :base I9 and extend forwardly thereform. 4The rails .22 are seated upon andanchored by iboltsorother-A wise to the parallel legs/25-ofa1U-shapedbed plateq which als'oprovidessupport-and anchoragefor-the shaver-base1l9,-the rails 2Q-and base 21:9

being thus effectively joined to form a unitary structure of high rigidity.

In this instance the shaft 2| of the work gear is journalled in bearings 2l disposed at opposite sides of the gear |'I and separately supported in rigid pedestal structures 28 and 29 each mounted on one of the rails 22. Thepedestals 28 and 29 are detachable from the rails 22 and readily replaceable by others so as to accommodate work gears and shafts of various sizes and types, and they are also adjustable lengthwise of the rails 22 for the same reason. For these purposes each pedestal 28 and 29 has an integral base plate 30 seated on a shoe 3l which in turn is 'slidably seated on the accurately machined top face 32 of its supporting rail 22, each shoe 3| -having a depending rib 33 closely guided in a slot 34 formed in the rail. In this instance ea-ch rib 33 is fashioned to receive a feed screw 35 journalled in and extending lengthwise of the rail and operable to shift the `shoe 3|, and consequently the supported pedestal, to any desired position along the rail. Appropriate means, such as anchor bolts 36 extending through each base plate 3G and shoe 32 and engaged in T-slots 3l in the supporting rail, serve to releasably secure each pedestal in adjusted position.

'Ihe feed screws 35 are preferably separately operable by hand wheels 38 or the like, each carrying an appropriate indicator dial 39 for cooperation with a fixed pointer 4|! carried by a support 4| in which the adjacent end of the screw 35 is journalled. It will of course be understood that by manipulation of the feed screws 35 work gears of various sizes may be radially adjusted I'' into proper meshing relation with the cutter lll.

The work gear is axially fixed by means readily adaptable to gears and shafts of various sizes and types. In this instance an end thrust bearing 42 adjustably mounted upon the bearing pedestal 29 is employed for this purpose. The end thrust bearing 42 is of a well known type. It is shown provided with a pedestal support 43 seated upon and bolted to a bracket plate 4d that projects horizontally from the pedestal 29. The plate 44 is slotted as at 4'5 in a manner to permit horizontal adjustment of the bearing pedestal 43 in a direction parallel to the axis of the gear A rotary stub shaft 46 axially fixed in the end thrust bearing 42 projects therefrom and is equipped with an end flange 4l by which it may be releasably coupled to the shaft 2| of the work gear through a suitable adapter 4l'. In this instance the adapter 4l' is in the form of a disk bolted or otherwise attached to the end of shaft 2| and similarly atached tothe flange 4l of the stub shaft.

During the shaving operation the work gear is driven preferably by a large indexing gear 48 rigidly attached to and carried by the shaft 2| thereof. The gear 48 is preferably of a diameter approaching that of the work gear |l so as to effect a positive and accurate control of its rotation, rotation at uniform velocity being highly important for the accurate shaving of large gears.

In this instance the indexing gear 4'3 is attached to the shaft 2| through an adapter ring 49 which is 'bolted to the gear 48 and to the coupling flange 50 constituting a conventional part of the shaft 2|. The adapter ring 49 is shown seated against the circular face 5| of the gear 48 which is machined to provide an encircling shoulder 52 that coacts with the adapter to accurately center the same with respect to the gear 48, and the adapter 49 is similarly machined and shouldered to provide a seat for the shaft flange 5i) and to accurately center the adapter with respect thereto.

The indexing gear 48 is driven by a pinion 53 engaged therewith preferably at a low point and adjustably mounted to accommodate indexing gears 48 of various sizes and in the various positions that such gears may assume when applied to Work gears of various sizes and types. The pinion 53 is shown journaled in spaced bearing supports 54 carried by a base 55 which also provides support for an electric motor 56 and connected speed reducer 51 through which the pinion is driven. In this instance the base is seated upon a carrier plate 58 which in turn is seated upon a bed plate 59 that extends parallel to the adjacent base rail 22. The carrier plate 58 is adjustable lengthwise of the bed plate 59 and is adjustably xed thereto by bolts 60, while the base 55 is adjustable on the carrier plate 58 in a direction transversely of the bed plate 59, suitable clamp lugs 6| being provided to releasably nx the base to the carrier plate. The base 55 is thus adjustable both lengthwise and transversely of the bed plate 59, so that the pinion 53 carried thereby is readily adjustable in any direction necessary to effect a meshing relation between it and the indexing gear 48 yregardless of the size or position of that gear.

It is essential to the satisfactory shaving of gears that the axis of the work gear be truly parallel to the axis yof reciprocation of the cutter l0 or, in other words, that both of those axes lie in the same plane and that both be equi- `distant throughout their lengths. This positional relation is particularly important in the shaving of wide-faced gears and pinions and very difficult of attainment when large gears are involved. In the machine shown provision is made for checking the positional relation between those axes as an aid and guide in attaining the required parallelism therebetween.

For the purpose of ascertaining whether the axis of the work gear is strictly coplanar with the axis of reciprocation of the 4cutter I0, a suitable gear scanning device is provided on the head I5 of the shaver. The scanning device shown comprises an arm 52 detachably fixed to one end of a rock shaft 63 journalled in appropriate bearing brackets 64 permanently xed to the head I5. The shaft 63 is arranged so that its axis is parallel to the axis of reciprocation of the cutter and so that the arm 62 is swingable therewith in a plane normal to that axis. An indicator gauge 55 of a well known type is attached to the end of the arm B2 with its contacter 66 projecting laterally therefrom. The arm 62 is preferablyy adjustable as to length and thus adaptable for use with gears of various sizes. and may be transferred to the other end of the shaft to facilitate its use with gears of different types and in various positions.

By adjusting the shaver head l5 and its carrier l5 lengthwise of the base I9, the gauge contacter 65 may be brought into contact with the edge face of the rim of the gear at a low point thereon, as indicated in Figs. l and 2. Then, without changing the position of the head |5, the arm 52 may be swung upwardly unt-il the contacter engages or passes the same edge face of the rim at a high point, such as X thereon. If the contacter 6B contacts the rim face at point X and produces an Vindicator reading the same as that produced at the rst or lower riml contact, then it would be known that the axis of the gear il is coplanar with the axis of the shaft 63 and consequently coplanar .with the axis of reciprocation of the clutter lili. lIf the. `contacter [i6 fails to contact the rim at the high point, however, or produces an indicator reading otherthan that produced at the first or lower contact point, then it would be known that the position of the gear is incorrect. Its position maybe corrected byinserting o n-e or more sh-ims beneath one-or thefother of the bearing pedestals 2t or 29 until a positio-n has been attained where the indicator 65 will show the same reading at both the upper and lower points of contact with the rim.

After the gear has been adjusted in the manner above described to position its axis in coplaner relation with the axis of reciprocation of the cutter, further adjustment is ordinarily necessary to insure that those axes are equidistant from each other at all points in the length thereof. As a means for checking this condition a pair of measuring rods 6l and Q8 are provided. The rods 5l and 68 are in this instance mounted for lengthwise adjustment in an appropriate pedestal bracket 69 by which they are supported in a horizontal position disposed substantially at right angles to the shaft 2| and to the vertical face of the guideway |13 on which the tool slide i3 is mounted. The bracket |59 is shown seated on and releasably attached to one of the base rails 22, so that the rods 6l and 5B are positioned to measure the distance between one end portion 2 i of the shaft 2| and the guideway I4; but the bracket 69 may be readily transferred to the other base rail 22 in which position the rods serve to measure the distance between the other end portion 2| of the shaft and the guideway lli. Two plugs 'FG and 'H having accurately ground and hardened faces are countersunk in the face of the guideway I4 to provide convenient reference points from which the above noted measurements are made. The projecting end of one of the rods G8 is preferably equipped with an indicator gauge l2 of a well known type having a contacter "i3 positioned to Contact the shaft 2|.

With the rod supporting bracket G9 in the position shown,l the shaver head l5 and its carrier i6 are adjusted along the base I9 to align one of the plugs 7|] with the measuring rod 5l. Thereafter, the rod S? is extended through the bracket 69 until its free end contacts the face of the plug lil, and the rod 68 is similarly extended in the opposite direction until the indicator contactor i3 contacts the shaft end 2|. The distance between those points is thus definitely ascertained. The bracket 69, with the rods 6l and G8, is then transferred and attached to the other base rail 22, and the shaver head ie and carrier iii are adjusted along the base l5 to align the other plug 1| with the rod El in its new position. Both rods 6l and E8 are again adjusted in the manner above described to make contact with the plug 'il and shaft end portion 2|", respectively, to thereby measure the distance between those points. If the measured distances between the shaft ends 2| and 2| and the plugs 'I0 and 1|, respectively, do not agree, after correction is made for the difference in diameters of those ends, then either pedestal 28 or 29 may be adjusted along its base rail 22 until those measurements do agree, and in that position of the shaft true parallelism between the axis of the gear and the axis of reciprocation of the cutter is established.

Various changes may be made in the embodi- 6; mentor the invention hereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacricing the advantages of the invention as dened in the aps. pended claims.

We. claim:

1. In a.,gear` shaving `i:matti-:litre the combination of a gear-shaped shaving'cutter, a pair of latterally spaced horizontal rails, means for receiving and journalling' the shaft of a work gear to support'the-latterfin meshing relation with said cutter, said means being adjustable `lengthwise of said rails to accommodate work gears of different sizes, thrust sustaining means including a shaft detachably engageable with the shaft of the work gear to axially position the latter, a carrier for said cutter movable in a direction to cause said cutter to traverse the face of said work gear, and a support for said carrier movable to develop a shaving pressure between said cutter and work gear.

2. In a gear shaving machine the combination of a gear-shaped shaving cutter, a pair of laterally spaced horizontal rails, a pair of laterally spaced supports on said rails for receiving and journalling the shaft of a work gear to support the latter in meshing relation with said cutter, said supports being adjustable lengthwise of said rails to accommodate work gears of various sizes, thrust sustaining means carried by one of said supports and adjustable relative thereto to accommodate work-gear shafts of various lengths, said thrust sustaining means including a shaft detachably engaged with the shaft of the work gear to axially position the latter, a carrier for said cutter movable in a direction to cause said cutter to traverse the face of said Work gear, and a support for said cutter movable in a direction to develop a shaving pressure between said cutter and work gear.

3. In a gear shaving machine the combination of a gear-shaped shaving cutter, a pair of laterally spaced horizontal rails, a pair of laterally spaced supports for receiving and journalling the shaft of a work gear to thereby support the latter in meshing engagement with said cutter, said supports being mounted on and adjustable lengthwise of said rails to accommodate work gears of various sizes, thrust sustaining means on one of said supports and including a shaft detachably engageable with the work-gear shaft to axially position the latter, means including a gear detachably engageable with the work-gear shaft for rotating the latter, a carrier for said cutter movable to cause said cutter to traverse f. the face of the work gear, and a support for said carrier movable to develop a shaving pressure between the cutter and work gear, said cutter being free to rotate in response to rotation of the work gear to distribute the shaving pressure between successive teeth of the work gear.

4. In a gear shaving machine the combination of a gear-shaped rotary shaving cutter, a pair of laterally spaced horizontal rails, means on said rails for receiving and journalling the shaft of a gear blank to support the latter between said rails and in meshing relation with said cutter, said means being adjustable lengthwise of said rails to accommodate gear blanks of different sizes, thrust means engageable with the shaft of the gear blank to axially position the same, a carrier for said cutter movable in a direction to cause said cutter to traverse the face of the gear blank, a support for said carrier movable to develop shaving pressure between said cutter and gear blank, and power driven means for 7 rotating the gear blank, said cutter being engageable with and rotatively driven solely by the gear UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Drummond Sept, 10, 1940 Drummond Jan. 7, 1941 Drader et al. June 17, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France May 1857 France July 26, 1918 

